LAHAINA – While many Lahaina families are busy with holiday activities, a group of local volunteers is focused on filling empty shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, hygiene items and notes of encouragement for needy kids overseas.

Lahaina families are participating in the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind: Operation Christmas Child, an effort that has hand-delivered 86 million gifts to kids worldwide since 1993.

This year-round project of Samaritan’s Purse is coming to its peak, as local businesses, churches and schools prepare to collect gift-filled shoe boxes during National Collection Week on Nov. 14-21.

Volunteers can drop off their shoe box gifts at Lahaina Baptist Church, 209 Shaw St., to help kids in 100 countries know they are loved and not forgotten.

Operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

For information, visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ or call (714) 432-7030.